Where Does the Bible Say Explicitly That the Miraculous Gifts Cease?

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People are tired of hearing nothing but doom and despair on the radio.

The message of Christianity is that salvation is found in Christ alone and any who reject Christ therefore forfeit any hope of Salvation any hope of.

Heaven.

The issue is that humanity is in sin and the wrath of Almighty God.

Is.

Hanging over our head. They will hear his words They will not act upon them and when the floods of divine judgment when the fires of wrath come They will be consumed and they will perish. God wrapped himself in flesh Condescended and became a man died on the cross for sin was resurrected on the third day Has ascended to the right hand of the father where he sits now to make intercession for us.

Jesus is saying there is a group of people who will hear his words They will act upon them and when the floods of divine judgment come in that final day their house will stand.

And welcome to Bible bashed where we aim to equip the Saints for the works of ministry by answering the questions. You're not allowed to ask. Listen and enjoy this installment of iron sharpening iron as pastor Tim answers your sincere questions.

Here's pastor Tim.

The Open but Cautious View of Cessationism

We recently did a podcast on the question of the difference between cessationism and Continuationism. The question that we were trying to ask was the question Should people who claim to be speaking speaking words directly from God today essentially Be considered false prophets now a sincere question that we had that was related to this was the question coming from an individual who Occupies basically the open but cautious position.

And that position is essentially the kind of position that says hey look a lot of the charismatic Phenomenon that I'm seeing the tongues the gift of healing. The direct words from the Lord at these things kind of creep me out to be honest.

But then when I'm reading the Bible, I don't know that I have some sort of direct biblical Reason to say that these things are no more. So as I read the scriptures, I see that hey, there was a thing like a gift of tongues and there was a Gifts of prophecy you see people speaking directly from God in the New Testament in the Old Testament.

It seems safer to just say hey, I'm Open to the idea that God can still do that sort of thing if he wanted to do it. But then I'm cautious meaning like I what you know, I'm looking out and seeing what I'm seeing.

It doesn't seem to be done very poorly. But in the absence of some sort of direct word from God saying I'm not going to do that anymore. It seems to safer bet just to be open to the idea, but cautious and basically suspicious.

And so is there anything in the Bible that would seem to close the door on these kind of things? Is there any direct sort of statement in the scriptures that would our verses in the scriptures which would tell us that we shouldn't expect?

The supernatural gifts anymore the gift of healing the gift of tongues this kind of stuff. So what would you say to that now? Part part of what's happened here related to this kind of question is That there is a misunderstanding of what the sign gifts are the miraculous gifts actually are.

One of the things that the charismatic movement has done is the charismatic movement has come along and basically normalized the sign gifts essentially. Basically, the charismatic movement is built on the assumption that the sign gifts were normative for believers throughout the church age.

And this is an assumption. It really is incredible when you think about it and this assumption that doesn't That has to be assumed. It has to be read into the text of Scripture. It's not something that naturally arises.

And so typically when God gives sign gifts These sign gifts are always Limited in their function if that makes sense. So what I mean is that when God sent Moses into Egypt One of the things that he did was he gave him certain signs to perform.

So when God sent Moses into Egypt, he gave him a leper's hand. He gave him a serpent staff and the ability to turn water into blood. Now, why do you do that? Well, he did that because Essentially Moses Understood the basic dilemma of him going into Egypt and speaking to Pharaoh.

Moses was essentially a homeless man who was going to walk into Egypt and he's gonna say to Pharaoh God's that says the Lord let my people go and Moses says well, how will they know that I'm sent from you?

Like well, how will they know that I'm not just some, you know, raving lunatic some, you know meth addict or something like that. Why would they believe me? Why won't they think I'm crazy and out of my mind and God essentially in response to that gives him a certain series of signs to Perform me one of them was the leper's hand.

He could put his hand inside of his coat Pull it out and it would be leprous and then put it back in and bring it back out and be clean ability to turn a staff into Serpent and water into blood and that kind of thing and so God gives him signs.

These are sign gifts. There are signs that are going to establish him as his messenger. That's what they were for All right. So now no one under the old covenant there is no expectation under the old covenant that these sign gifts Were normative things that your average Jodo Israelite, you know magic tricks that they could perform in order to edify the church or something like that.

They're not for that. That's not why they were there and no one ever made the assumption that they would ever be normative. They had a specific function. They were going to validate Moses as the Prophet of the Lord when that function was fulfilled.

The the sign ceased and so here's the thing I mean, there's no verse in the Bible that says that Christian shouldn't expect to turn a staff into a serpent or be expected to turn water into blood or To have a leprous hand.

There's no Verse in the Bible that's gonna say hey, that's done away with just like that. But the reason why there's not is because literally no Thoughtful reader of the Old Testament should ever assume that that's a normative thing.

It was given to a particular purpose person for a particular situation for a particular purpose. That's the point. Okay. So when it comes to tongues One of the things to realize is that tongues in the Bible you just we'll just deal with tongues for it.

For example just to establish this basic point in order to try to illuminate Where the cessationist position is coming from you think about something like tongues tongues are clearly foreign languages.

That's what they are. So if you go to Acts you go to Acts chapter 2, one of the things to realize is that Act Acts 2 talks about tongues in the language of foreign languages now Acts 2 verse 1 when the day of Pentecost arrived.

They're all together in one place and suddenly there came from heaven sound like a mighty rushing wind Which filled the entire house where they were sitting and divided. Tongues of fire appeared upon them and rest on each one of them.

And they were all each of them Filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues or languages as the Spirit gave in utterance. How do you know there are languages? Well, that's what it says verse 5 now.

There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews devout men from every nation under heaven and at the sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered. And each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language and they were amazed and astonished and saying are not these who?

Were speaking Galileans. So, how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language Parthians and Medes Elamites in the residents of Mesopotamia? Jude Judea and Cappadocia Pontius and Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene and Visitors from Rome both Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arab Arabians.

We hear them telling in our own tongues or our own language the mighty works of God and they were amazed and perplexed saying to One another what does this mean. But others mocked saying they are filled with new wine.

So here's the thing God like God says to his Apostles. Hey, I have more commands to give you but you can't bear them. So you're gonna be my witnesses to Jerusalem to Judea and to the ends of the earth.

Wait for me and the promise coming of the Holy Spirit and when the Holy Spirit comes he's gonna guide you in all truth. He's gonna take from mine and declare it to you. He's going to give you those additional commands.

And so what was the sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit? It was the sign of the Jews from all nations under heaven. Speaking words. They were speaking human languages. So they were speaking human languages and the people from different parts of The country were saying we hear ourself.

They didn't hear Babel and here like I want to buy a Honda. They heard people speaking in their own language so tongues and acts was the sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit To God's Church. That's what it was.

It was a sign of the Holy Spirit coming now. The same thing happens later on. So first the Holy Spirit is poured out in Acts 2 on the Jews and they all hear they all speak in tongues. And they hear them speaking in their own language and then in Acts 10 The Holy Spirit falls upon the Gentiles and the Gentiles also hear them speaking in tongues.

And so they hear them speaking in foreign languages human languages that they actually understand. Why would that happen?

Well.

Because God first went to the Jews and afterwards he went through the Greek and This was something that happened with Peter where Peter became aware that God makes no distinction between Jews and Greeks.

He's building his church. It's going to be included of Jews. It's going to be Included of Gentiles and so the Holy Spirit came in two different phases first to the Jews and then it came to the Gentiles and That was to unify the Church of God.

So it had a particular purpose. It was a sign now Paul says it is much like when you read through 1st Corinthians. One of the things that you're gonna see is This 1st Corinthians 1420. He says brothers Do not be children in your thinking be infants and evil.

But in your thinking be mature in the law. It is written by people of strange tongues or languages and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people and even then they will not listen to me says the Lord.

Thus he says tongues or the gift of human languages are assigned. What does he say not for believers, but for unbelievers while prophecy is assigned not for unbelievers but for believers if The whole if therefore the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues and outsider or unbelievers enter.

Will they not say that you are all out of your minds if you're just babbling in foreign languages without interpreters? So then they do not think that you're out of your mind. So but if all prophesy and the unbeliever outsider enters he is convicted by all he's called an account by all the secrets of his Heart are disclosed and so falling on his face.

He will worship God and declare that God is really among you. Here's the thing Paul. Paul says don't be infants in your thinking. So don't be childish in your thinking, right? Don't. Don't be childish in your thinking.

In the law is written by people of strange tongues in the lips of foreigners. I will speak to these people and even then they will not listen to me what we're taught. Sign tongues it says thus songs are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers.

What was the purpose of tongues. The purpose of tongues was a sign of judgment in the law is predicted that God was going? To speak to the Jews by men of foreign tongues. What happened in an axe? Well, one of the things that you see in acts is that there's Jews from all over heaven the Holy Spirit comes.

And.

They all hear them speak in your own language. Then the Holy Spirit comes to the Gentiles. This is a sign of judgment. For the Israelites basically saying by by by men of straining strange languages I'm gonna speak to them and for all this they will not hear.

The issue is tongues had a historical significance. It was a sign of judgment on the unbelieving Jews. They were being judged by God. And this was a sign that God was moving from the Jews to the Gentiles to be his primary base of operations.

That was the purpose of tongues. And so you say well, where is a passage which says like tongues will be done away with. Where is that passage, right? Well, I mean I think. You know, you can go to first Corinthians 13.

And.

13 8 it says love never ends as for prophecies. They will pass away as for tongues. They will cease as for knowledge. It will pass away for I know in part and prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes apart, she'll pass away.

The text is saying that tongues are obviously gonna cease but you want you want to know what specifically when does it say they cease? Well, it ceased when the function of tongues ceased the there is no need.

Here's the point. There is no need as you as you read through the New Testament. There is no there's no need for a continual sign of judgment against the unbelieving Jews. Who last periodically throughout? the entirety of the church age.

The this was a sign of judgment against the Jews. Tongues was a sign of judgment against the Jews. It was a sign that God moved from the Jews to the Gentiles primarily in terms of his primary base of ministry.

Once that sign of judgment was enacted. There's no more purpose for tongues or this miraculous gift as far as that goes now. There's much more that we can say about the other sign gifts as well. Like whether the gift of healing which was a sign or whether the gift of knowledge, but a gift of prophecy or anything else.

But this is just one example of the kind of the way that a person has to learn to think about the way These signs gifts actually work. It's not enough just to assume that if there's a sign gift is going to continue in perpetuity.

Throughout the church age you have to ask what was the purpose of the sign and in this case Paul tells us the purpose. It was a sign of judgment for unbelievers.

This has been another installment of iron sharpening iron as Always. If you would like to have your question included in one of these midweek episodes email us at Bible bashed podcast at gmail .com. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Facebook Twitter and gab.

Now go boldly and obey the truth in the midst of a biblically illiterate world who will be perpetually offended by your every move.